Sands China and Clean the World made the most of 'One Project Day' Friday at The Venetian Macao's Cotai Expo, with the goal of building 20,000 hygiene kits which are to be donated to charities and community organisations in Macao and other Asian countries.

The event is a part of the Sands ECO360 global sustainability strategy and the corporate citizenship program Sands Cares.

Each hygiene kit contains a range of bathroom products from Sands China's properties: soap recycled through the Clean the World programme; bottles containing unused portions of shampoo, body wash and lotion; and new items such as facecloths and toothbrushes donated by Sands China.

Clean the World is a social enterprise with the mission of saving millions of lives around the world and one of the ways it does this is to distribute recycled soap and hygiene products from more than 2,100 hotel and resort partners to children and families in countries with a high death rate due to acute respiratory infection (pneumonia) and diarrheal diseases (cholera) - two of the top killers of children under five.

Since 2009, Clean the World has distributed more than 17 million bars of soap in 96 countries. Through the 'ONE Project', Clean the World provides hygiene kits to relief organisations throughout North America.

Sands China is committed to living up to its environmental responsibilities by promoting sustainable practices that reduce the impact of hotel operations on the environment and enhance the resort experience of guests as well as the quality of life of the local community. The Sands ECO360 global sustainability strategy is designed to help minimise environmental impact, and at the same time lead the way when it comes to sustainable building development and resort operations.

Sands China is also deeply committed to making positive changes in society by harnessing the power of people and resources. Sands Cares is the global corporate citizenship programme that combines exciting partnerships, charitable giving and team member volunteerism to make an impact around the world.

To achieve the target of packing 20,000 hygiene kits, over 1,000 people signed up for the project, including 800 Sands China team members and 200 volunteers from five local associations: Caritas Macau, Fuhong Society of Macau, Macau Red Cross, the Macau Association for the Parents of the Mentally Handicapped, and the Macau Youth Volunteer Association.

The project kick-off ceremony was held Friday afternoon with officiating guests including Jolene Han, managing director of Clean the World Asia; and Mark McWhinnie, senior vice president of Development & Shared Services and director of Sands Cotai Central, Sands China; as well as volunteers from the five participating associations.

"Sands China is proud to be working with Clean the World once again," said Mark McWhinnie. "As a leading integrated resort operator, we work hard to be a socially responsible company that makes a positive difference in the community, and we are also delighted to be playing our part in promoting environmental efforts in our region.

"Sands China admires Clean the World's ethos, which is in line with our Sands ECO360 global green initiative, which aims to reduce our operational impact to society through measures like energy saving, resource recycling, conservation and community engagement."

Jolene Han said: "I would like to thank Sands China for its generous support to Clean the World. With Sands China's support, we have recycled 30 tons of soaps from its five participating hotels: The Venetian Macao; Sands Macao; Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central; Conrad Macao, Cotai Central; and Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central."

Image: Mark McWhinnie (fourth from left), Jolene Han (third from left), and volunteers from the five hotels